By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Mayor Ronnie bounded into his office and said, “Grab your stuff, we are going for a ride.” I scrambled to my feet as we quickly headed out to his car. “I want to show you something—this is going to be “Show and Tell.” “Great!” I replied as we zipped toward what is sometimes referred to semi-affectionately as “Chicken Park.” That is the old Pilgrim’s Pride blighted site, and it has been under “de-construction” for several months. I know from having grown up in a long-term remodel that a project needs visionaries, and this has been no exception. The mayor brought me to the site when the project first got underway, and it was tough to imagine it being anything but blighted. But now the beauty of the place, even in its excavated state, is something to behold.
The Pilgrim’s Pride site is 32 acres, and with the right type of development, will become the crown jewel of Athens — our Central Park, if you will. The east side of the property, which butts up against the new high school, has been sold to a developer who will build 146 residential units. The architecture will be consistent with the portion on the west side which will be somewhat like Providence in Huntsville. An instant town, to be sure, but a beautifully designed one. The idea is to have the west side be mixed-use with shops, restaurants and condos, and in between the two will be the park. “It cost us $499,000 to clear this out,” said the mayor, and added, “And that’s a bargain! The next bid was $750,000.” The deconstruction was supposed to be finished in December, but two things occurred—an unusual amount of rain, and they ran into layers and layers of concrete that no one knew were there.
We headed back west and down Jefferson to what used to be Jimmy Gill Park on Sanderfer Rd. Toyota Boshoku is breaking ground there for their new plant which was unveiled last month when Governor Ivey came to Athens to announce it to the public. You might ask, “But what about the park?” After looking into a lot of options, including consulting with Jimmy’s family, it was decided that the perfect place to relocate the park would be at the former site of the Woodland Golf Course. It, too, is stunning, and to reclaim it to what will be better than its former glory is going to be another thing about which we can “show and tell.”
I have mentioned on more than one occasion that when I came to interview Mayor Ronnie for the first time at the old City Hall, before we began our interview, he went outside to pick up litter. The man hates litter with a passion, as do I, and it appears the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His granddaughter, Molly, called him up last weekend concerned about the fact that recycling is going to be phased out in Vestavia. She asked him, “Pop, what do I do?” “Write a letter,” he replied. “Get involved,” he continued.
The mayor and I zipped back to City Hall where my friend Carrie Radnov was waiting for us. She had come from St. Louis for Jerry Gilbert’s funeral. So, the three of us prayed, and once again it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
